Tough day at the office for Shaw

Australia’s Daniel Gaunt with the Telenet Trophy. Picture courtesy Pierre MardagaGareth Shaw will consign a disappointing final round to the memory banks and reflect of the positives of three excellent rounds in the Telenet Trophy in Belgium.

The touring professional for Galgorm Castle went into the final round just a stroke behind leaders Robert Dinwiddie, Daniel Gaunt and Stuart Manley.

But as Australian Gaunt went on to banished the demons of a difficult two years with one stupendous flick of a wedge to defeat Holland’s Wil Besseling at the first hole of a play-off to pocket €25,600, Shaw had to settle for just €2,000 after a closing two over 73 left him five behind in joint 17th on six under.

A double bogey six at the opening hole was a massive blow to the Lurgan native and while he birdied the long fifth, he was already well off the pace and mixed four bogeys with three birdies coming home.

Shaw moved up 19 places to 66th in the Challenge Tour rankings with €4,408 from five starts while Simon Thornton is 69th with €4,128 after a closing 69 in his thirds start of the year gave him a share of 34th on three under.

As for Gaunt, it was a real piece of genius on the first extra hole which sealed a second Challenge Tour title for the Melbourne-born man as he flicked a delightful chip from 47 yards stone dead to guarantee a birdie.

Besseling, from a more difficult lie in the rough, could only knock his chip 15 feet past and his missed putt meant Gaunt could tap in for a birdie and the win.

The 34 year old had held his nerve, but only just, during a dramatic final round at Royal Waterloo Golf Club, where many players were in with a shout until late in the day before falling at the final hurdle.

Instead, a stunning performance and a six under par 65 propelled Besseling through the field early on as he claimed the clubhouse lead on 11 under par, having teed off 11 groups before the final pairing.

Gaunt, who shared the lead going into the final round, needed a birdie at the final hole of regulation play to take his Dutch counter-part to extra holes and a superb second shot into the green against the wind meant he two putted for a two under par 69 to bring it back down the 18th.

There, he wowed the crowds with a magnificent show of short game ingenuity before raising his hands high in the air in a show of joy and relief, in equal measures, when his putt dropped.

“I’m a bit emotional at the moment to be honest,” said Gaunt, who had only made one cut in nine appearances on both The European Tour and Challenge Tour this year. “After how the last two years have gone for me it’s massive to get a win under my belt.

“Getting to 12 under early on in the final round, I thought I had a great chance but anything can happen around there. I got a little edgy with my putting but I have been working hard on my short game and that shot in the play-off was the one I had been struggling with.

“I just trusted it though and I couldn’t have hit it any better to be honest. “

José-Filipe Lima also had a chance to join the play-off but he missed a seven-footer for birdie at the 18th and had to settle for a share of third place, alongside fellow former European Tour winner Daniel Vancsik and Welshman Stuart Manley.

Calmels streaks to seven shot win

François Calmels with the Challenge de Madrid trophy. Picture courtesy Luis Corralo. François Calmels complete a stunning, wire-to-wire, seven-shot win in the Challenge de Madrid. But it was also a positive week for Simon Thornton and Gareth Shaw as they moved up the Challenge Tour rankings.

Shaw and Thornton survive Waterloo cut

Robert Dinwiddie got away from golf for 10 weeks by escaping to Thailand. He leads the Telenet Trophy at halfway with Finn Roope Kakko. Picture Getty ImagesGareth Shaw and Simon Thornton were the only Irish survivors as England’s Robert Dinwiddie and Finn Roope Kakko topped the leaderboard in the weather delayed Telent Trophy at a soggy Royal Waterloo in Belgium.

Shaw at the thick of it in Waterloo

Gareth Shaw’s third round 65 has left put in the mix at Royal Waterloo. Gareth Shaw will be hoping his recent experience will stand after a sensational tird round 65 left him just a shot off the pace heading into the final round of the Telenet Trophy at Royal Waterloo in Belgium.